


Hidden Under Our Petticoats

by arthurh_inc



Category: Little Mix (Band), One Direction (Band)
Genre: 1940s, Alternate Universe - 1940s, Arranged Marriage, Bittersweet Ending, Character Death, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Harry is a Little Shit, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, James Corden makes an appearance, Lawyer Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson is a Little Shit, M/M, Major Character Injury, Major Original Character(s), Murder Mystery, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, No Smut, Or not, Past Child Abuse, Period Typical Attitudes, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Period-Typical Sexism, Pianist Louis Tomlinson, Plot Twists, Research for this includes only binging 1940s thrillers and thats IT, So brace yourself, Strangers to Lovers, Worth Re-Reading, all the characters have BAGGAGE, basically my first everything, because this was based off a kill your darlings fancam, dedicated to people who love NCIS, everybody gets their own boring jobs, for Harry, have fun kiddos, i made a couple oc's because there weren't enough people at the dinner party, kind of, like clue but with a little more pizazz, lol, lots of lyrics in there too, okay we're done, references to World War II, symbolism is everything, the whole cast is a little shit, they h a t e each other at first, undertones of - Freeform, what else can I put, will have proper trigger warnings for every chapter, you'll see - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:34:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28586559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arthurh_inc/pseuds/arthurh_inc
Summary: 'Harry,I know it has been ages since I last saw you, but given the good news I've only just learned about, no thanks to you, (congrats on your engagement by the way), I wanted to get in touch with you again. Come to my dinner party at my manor, Dec. 22nd at 9 o'clock! I have recently struck a successful deal for the bank so your presence there would mean everything to me.I realize its been years and after we lost touch... I realized it hasn't exactly been easy, has it? But I want you to be here, to celebrate both your happiness and mine. Please? I promise, there's going to be a few surprises in store here as well. So, wouldn't want to miss this one.Here's to old friends. Will see you soon.Yours, Julien.'Harry knew it was a bad idea. He just didn't realize that a night of fun could turn into a night of blood, pointed fingers, and fearing for his life. It's the cherry on top that a stranger he just met and sincerely despises is now his most trusted ally. Or is he really? Julien always said that one can only trust themselves, and Harry is really starting to believe that statement. Along with the others, he'll try his best to survive the night, blood on his hands or not.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Jade Thirlwall/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 4





	Hidden Under Our Petticoats

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys!!! Welcome to my first official fanfic! I really don't touch fanfics because I have enough original novels that I want to write, but this idea absolutely refused to leave my head. I realize that a lot of you don't read the A/N so I'll attempt to keep it concise. 
> 
> I don't think I'll manage to upload regularly, with school and the likes taking up enough of my time as is and the way that I write which includes writing the whole thing first and editing as I post. But I'll clue you in on something. 
> 
> The fic isn't done. 
> 
> So consider this basically a trailer to an upcoming fic. :)
> 
> Anyway, a couple of other announcements.
> 
> I am currently looking for a beta. If you are one or know one for that matter, go ahead and leave a comment or reach me at my fan account @happ1ly_fics on Twitter. Thaaaank youuu. 
> 
> And there's gonna be references to a lot of jazz/swing/other 40s music. Pretend I know what I'm talking about :). If there are any songs you don't know feel free to look 'em up because I really liked them, though I know you probably won't and that's okay. They aren't important to the story.
> 
> Warnings (for whole fic) include: 
> 
> Period typical homophobia, racism, and sexism, unwanted engagement, references to slight child abuse (nothing in detail and mostly emotional/verbal), blood, guns, knives, poison, you know it's a murder party. Major Character Death. Yeah, no one gets plot armour in this. Major plot twists, like I don't know if you can handle them haha lol. Kidding, or am I?? References to systemic oppression, fuck the system, acab, that kinda thing. Um, Simon Cowbell, cuz that fucker deserves a warning all his own. ohh, yeah, cursing. But on the bright side, 
> 
> no smut! Because I am fifteen and a virgin and get very uncomfy reading it so this is my fic and we abide by MY rules. 
> 
> If I think of any other possibly triggering things, I'll be happy to warn you guys in future chapter notes.
> 
> Disclaimer: The people in this fic include fictional perspectives of people in real life and fictional characters I'm proud to call my own. I am in no way claiming that the portrayal of these characters reflects real-life attitudes, beliefs, or personalities. The fictional portrayals are completely separated from their real-life counterparts. thank you.
> 
> And with that being said, hope you enjoy the fic!

[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8DhNI-aivI ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8DhNI-aivI)

###  **1947, December, 20:09 PM**

_I stand at your gate and the song that I sing is of moonlight._

_I stand and I wait for the touch of your hand in the June night._

_The roses are sighing a moonlight serenade._

The radio was playing loudly from inside the bedroom. A crackly chorus of four sweet singers flooded into the bathroom as he fixed his tie in the mirror. It was a familiar tune, the notes climbing and descending and making him travel to the figurative heaven in the melody. He found himself softly humming along with the four women as he brushed himself off. 

_The stars are aglow and tonight how their light sets me dreaming._

_My love, do you know that your eyes are like stars brightly beaming?_

_I bring you and sing you a moonlight serenade._

He felt the grin creeping up his lips as he heard his own voice mix with the angels on the radio. They were a local group, he knew that much, but the name escaped his mind every time he heard their voices. All words escaped his mind whenever he managed to catch a croon coming from his beloved machine. He carefully applied a bit of gel to his hair, forgetting not to close his eyes while dressing up. 

_Let us stray till break of day_

_In love's valley of dreams._

_Just you and I, a summer sky,_

_A heavenly breeze kissing the trees._

'Oh, the music of Glenn Miller.

He looked at himself, satisfied with his appearance before going to fetch his coat as the music quieted and slowed for the last verse. 

_So don't let me wait, come to me tenderly in the June night._

_I stand at your gate and I sing you a song in the moonlight,_

_A love song, my darling, a moonlight serenade._

He checked the time on his watch.

_8:12_

There was a bit of time before the dinner party started, surely he would have time to listen to one more song before he left. He strode along the plush carpet to the record player beside the radio, fixed up one of his favourites. A drastic change in tone, he knew, but he couldn’t help craving to hear the irregular rhythms right before he would be plunged into an evening filled with introductions and shallow conversation. 

_‘And that, ladies and gentlemen, was a beautiful rendition of Moonlight Serenade by our very own Little Infinities. Unfortunately, tonight’s session with them will have to be cut short as they tell me they have another place to be. But you can always catch them at the Evan’s Theatre any weeknight you or your baby are looking for any entertainment-’_

He shut the radio off, too excited to hear the jazz playing from his record player. He lowered the tone-arm to the disc and the sound of a lively piano marched into the air. He turned the volume high and let himself breathe into the melody, gathering his possessions for tonight. 

_Hurry, hurry, hurry_

_Take the A train!_

He started lacing his shoes as the sound of trumpets blasted in the air. Letting his head twist just a bit to the music. The warm light that covered the room seemed just a bit brighter with the high tempo. Until it got a bit dimmer when his fiancee called. 

“Harry?” He tried not to let himself be disappointed, especially since he knows she doesn’t like ‘that type of music.’ And especially because he was making too much noise. He knew what she would say…

“Harry, please be a dear and turn that off? It’s sending the house into chaos!” He knew how she would try to add humour in her voice and he also knew that her requests weren’t really requests. She tried to keep the disgust out of her voice, but he could still hear it. Like she did with every other critique of Harry’s behaviour. Still, he let himself smile, glad his ears got to be blessed as he got ready for the evening. 

He grabbed his hat and made his way downstairs, gathering his scattered feelings and buzzing thoughts. The music seemed to have replenished his energy previously depleted from a day’s work, but it takes seconds for him to be reminded where he is.

He made his way to the front door, only to hear, “And where do you think you’re going dressed like that?” 

He turned around to meet his fiancee’s eye. She was just as tall as him with heels on, giving her a much more intimidating stance, hair done up so similar to every other woman he passes on the street. Her tone was laced with pestilence. Harry just knew she would complain. They weren’t unreasonable complaints, though. Not when she was so anxious to please everyone around her in her life.

Her parents, her harping friends, her neighbours. The anxiety fed into her nitpicking, and all Harry could reasonably do was be patient. He understood her anxiety to keep her name from the local gossip, to make sure she was a perfect fit for a wife. 

What he didn’t want, however, was to be the perfect husband, no matter how much the people around them would whisper about his taste for music or his sister’s scandal. But his family already faced one, and they didn’t need another, even if all they want is his happiness. 

His desires didn’t line up with what the world wanted. It was a truth he accepted long before Paula came into his life. 

He looked her in the eyes, trying to let his joy lift the mood so the complaints she has won’t be as harsh. “I’m going to Julien’s dinner party, Paula. We discussed it last night? He’s a friend from university?”

“I know that. I mean why do you think a bare white shirt and braces are appropriate for that kind of event? Do you wish him to think I just let you walk out the house wearing whatever you want?” She asks. It was like a mother berating her child, and Harry wished it didn’t annoy him as much as it did. Her gaze had the slightest undertone, he could visibly see her paranoia and erraticness.

He exhaled, letting a small smile rest on his face. “I wish you did. ‘Would save me half my time,” he joked. She let her face fall into her hands, sighing, before giving up. 

“Harry, people are going to see you there, and-”

“Where people are, talk follows. I was there when your parents gave you a speech on all the reasons you shouldn’t marry me, and then proceeded to force you to do so.” She daintily scoffs, a feat somehow manageable only by her and her manner-filled upbringing. 

“It’s all you do every time you try and sneak past me looking like you were raised in hoodlum-” _A bit of a dramatic statement._ He was shaking his head, laughing with no humour behind it. She raised her voice, frustrated.

“Every time!” She exclaimed. “Every time you only remind me how much you wouldn’t want to be in this house with me as a wife. Harry, I _know._ ” It stopped his small act of rudeness. He felt like an arse after she said the words. She took a breath. “I either get you for a husband or-” 

“I know.” He _does_ know. It was him or a much older man. A known swigger and call-girl addict, but was the only man to show any interest in ‘plain-as-day Paula’, the woman with parents who were desperate to marry her off as soon as possible. The phrase even coined by her father once she graduated school with no beau to call her own. 

He sighed, looking into her tired eyes once more, just searching for some semblance of the girl he once knew. Wishing for the days where he would smile and she would smile back, the two of them against the world. It made him want to curse every word and behaviour instilled in her, want to curse the world for stripping his favourite person down to her anxieties. He wanted to try once more, just one more time to find her. After all, if it was one could say that he turned out like her as well.

“What happened to us?” He asked. The question took her by surprise, her features softening just a bit.

They were close once. Kindred spirits among the endless, boring adults at galas and parties. It was jarring, watching the goofy girl he once knew turn into a woman obsessed with status and social acceptance. He remembered laughing as he shared secrets and pranks with a girl he was proud to call his best friend. Now, he can barely stand to look her in the eye. 

She then realized where she was, who she was talking to.

“I grew up,” She replied, voice hard as stone. It was like looking at her from across a river. Distant, hazy, unable to properly hear one another as they go through life. He tries so hard to understand her, to suddenly be the man she needs, but he knows he can’t. Why bother?

He turned to go to the staircase when he heard, “and wear your ring too. Don’t think I don’t notice you take it off. Lord _knows_ other people will.” He looked back to gauge her face but saw she was already moving on to grab a book. As if she had other things to worry about. 

He went upstairs once more and came down in a beige sweater vest with a brown blazer covering most of his white button-up. He also sported his simple silver engagement band. It had their names on the inside. It was the only thing he liked about it. He’d have to take it off to be reminded it was her he would be married to, and not someone he loved. 

Paula looked down at it before going up to fix his tie under his vest, forcing a half-smile when she finished. He returned it and turned to walk out the door once more before being stopped by her voice again. “What time do you expect to be home?” He heard from behind him.

He contemplated for a beat. “I don’t,” he answered honestly without turning to face her, knowing he’ll ask to stay in one of Julien’s guest rooms. It was a few tense beats of silence before he saw her nod in his peripheral vision. 

“I’m sure you didn’t even notice thanks to your horrendous music, but it’s snowing outside. I expect it to be blizzarding by the time dinner would normally be over.” 

He nods in acknowledgement. “Have a nice evening Paula.” 

“You as well, _dear,_ ” the word dripped with contempt. He put on his hat and exited the house, seeing the snow for the first time. She was right, of course. He hadn’t noticed the bunches of snowflakes dropping from the sky, being lit up by the soft glow of the street lamps along the road. 

He shrugged, letting himself have a bit more bounce in his step as he walked up to his car. He heard the crackle of thunder in the distance. It was going to be a bad storm, but he didn’t care. Just gave him more reason not to go home. 

Climbing in the car, he released a breath he didn’t know he was holding and let his forehead drop with a thump onto the steering wheel. He tried to put distance between his feelings and the present. Not pushing them down, but pushing them away, letting them sit anywhere else but the here and now. He could only do so for so long. But… one day at a time. He could do this. 

He lifted his forehead and saw the ring. He bit down his urge to slide it off and throw it in the night air. He could last the night pretending to be engaged to a woman he loves. He’s done it for years, what’s one evening? It’s not like he would know anyone there, though. They wouldn’t need to know. They likely haven’t even heard of him before, and it’s been years since he’s seen, Julien. He probably hasn’t even heard about Paula. He shook his head, and the thought away. He shouldn’t be thinking about this. 

And the _note_. He heard he was engaged, therefore it would be a pointless thought anyway.

And, he didn’t need to think about it then after all. He turned to the little box of knobs and dials beside his steering wheel. He turned it to a radio channel that Paula would smack his hand away from immediately. He let the crackly sound of a saxophone fill his car. 

Tonight was going to be fun. It was going to be an easy party, one where he didn’t have to think too much. He’d let his body fall into the rhythms of polite conversation and have his mind elsewhere. He faked a small smile to himself. Even with the ring on, it was an evening he could let loose and have a bit of fun. 

Yes, tonight he was going to be himself. It was all he could do. 

...

_‘And, Little Infinities, please explain to our disappointed audience why in the world you’d leave them so early!’_

_‘Now, now, Charles. No need to be dramatic. I’m sure that our audience is brave enough to last one evening with a shorter performance.’_

_‘You’ve caught me, Jade. It’s simply going to be me missing your lovely voices! Tell me why my ears will have to be deprived of them on this fine Sunday night.’_

_‘Why, we have supper to catch! Don’t we ladies?’_

_‘We certainly do!’_

_‘Yes. A man asked us to perform at his dinner party tonight, and who are we to say no to a free meal?’_

_‘Calm yourself.’_

_‘Please, Perrie, let me be excited.’_

_‘Oh, how charming you girls are. Will you tell me who has the pleasure to have you themselves for the rest of the evening?’_

_‘Well our manager, bless his soul, never told us his name, but apparently, he’s a frequent audience member as our pianist told us.’_

_‘Yes, Louis tells us he’s a good friend. I’m trying to remember the name.’_

_‘Um… Julien Kierran, I believe.’_

_‘Right!’_

_‘Well, the man is lucky to have you at his house party, for certain.’_

_‘Yes,’ Jade laughed, ‘he very much is.’_

**…**

**Author's Note:**

> How was that for a trailer, lol? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Sorry, it was so short but it's looking like the whole fic will be turning out to be somewhere around 70,000, maybe 90,000 words, so we have that to look forward to. 
> 
> Leave a comment so I can hear your thoughts! Leave kudos if you're feeling intrigued! And I'll leave a little bit of love, because if you're reading this, then you gotta have some kind of patience. Thank you so much! Much love and sending good vibes your way!


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